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Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Phonogram - Hatful of Hollow - Rol Hirst

Panel One.

A desolate hillside on Saddleworth Moor, the border between Yorkshire and Lancashire (that's in the UK, boys and girls, and just up the hill from my house). A long straight road stretches into the distance. The ground is heather and peat. The only life here: the occasional sheep. At the side of the road, a broken bicycle stands upside down, waiting for someone to mend its punctured tyre.

In the foreground, away from the road, a mound of recently disturbed earth is visible. Is this a grave? Has someone been buried here?

Panel Two.

Close on the grave. A hand tears up from the earth, grasping for life.

Panel Three.

David Kohl claws his way out of the grave, peaty soil tumbling from his hair. He’s wearing a dark jacket and a “Relaxed Muscle” T-shirt. He looks really pissed off.

As Kohl kicks the bicycle out into the road, a huge red double-decker bus can be seen hurtling towards him along the moorland road. The destination on the front of the bus is Strangeways. The bus is being driven by an evil cartoon headmaster with a mortar board hat and cane, like a character from The Beano.

I have to agree with Ryan, this feels like Phonogram crossed over with Scott Pilgrim, and that's totally awesome. Pretty sure I missed some of the jokes by not being a Smiths fan, but I get the idea behind it.

I also feel like I missed out on some of the finer aspects of the script by not being a Smiths fan, but I also feel like that's kind of what the original series was about anyways. The experience wasn't the same if you didn't know what everyone was referring to, but it still made for a good read. The same holds true for your piece, Rol. The imagery alone sells me on the script.